Local homebrewers arrange exchange with Aussie counterparts

Saratoga Thoroughbrews, a club of beer homebrewers, in August will be hosting the winner of an Australian brewing competition, who while in town will have the opportunity to brew three of his (or her) winning beers at area brewpubs. A homebrew club in Brisbane, Australia, will reciprocate in the future by hosting the winner of a local homebrew competition and arranging for brewing there.

The exchange came about after Jim Azotea, president of Saratoga Thoroughbrews, contacted Ross Kenrick, president of an Aussie homebrew club and owner of CraftBrewer, a brewing-supply house. Kenrick arranged for Azotea’s club to purchase 40 pounds of hops for a brewing project, the pair got to talking, and the idea of an exchange was born. Azotea, who will be vacationing in Australia in late July, will be a judge at the event that will send its winner to Saratoga.

While in town the Aussie brewer will make his winning recipes at Adirondack Pub and Brewery in Lake George, Davidson Brothers in Glens Falls and Brown’s Brewing in Troy, which will also sell the brews. In addition, the winner will spend a day at Olde Saratoga Brewery to work on a 100-barrel (3100-gallon) batch of one of Olde Saratoga’s products, according to Azotea. The final part of the exchange will be a spot for the Australian winner as a judge at the annual Red Cross Battle of the Brews fundraiser, held at the Saratoga Race Course on the Friday of Travers weekend.